Section 7

Sita Soren vs. Union of India: The Interplay between Anti-Corruption Laws and Legislative Immunity

In the recent landmark ruling of Sita Soren vs. Union of India,[1] a constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled on, inter alia, the liability of a Member of Parliament with respect to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (“PCA”), and the legislative immunity granted by the Constitution under Articles 105 and 194. This judgement overruled a long-standing position of law, laid down in PV Narasimha Rao vs. State (CBI/SPE ), which dealt with a Member of Parliament’s immunity from prosecution on charges of bribery in a criminal court.[2] This article analyses the position of anti-corruption provisions and its impact in view of the observations in Sita Soren.Continue Reading Sita Soren vs. Union of India: The Interplay between Anti-Corruption Laws and Legislative Immunity

Unravelling the Distinction between ‘Reference to’ and ‘Incorporation of’ Arbitration Clauses

Introduction

While entering into a transaction, companies often invoke multiple standard terms from other agreements, instead of reproducing all applicable terms in a single contract. Such clauses are not set out in the main contract signed by the parties, but are instead found in separate, pre-existing documents that have been referred to in the main contract, by which the parties agree that the standard terms that have been mentioned, should be considered a part of the main contract. This practice enables faster and smoother implementation of contracts and allows some standard clauses to remain unchanged, thus providing greater certainty to business. However, if the arbitration clause itself is located in a secondary document, it might lead to a dispute (between the parties) regarding the appropriate dispute resolution procedure.Continue Reading Unravelling the Distinction between ‘Reference to’ and ‘Incorporation of’ Arbitration Clauses